What a waste of my time!!!

hyped garbage

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I know of only one other movie that was made about the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. That was "Action in the North Atlantic" by Warner Brothers in 1943. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey and Alan Hale. That film was set in the North Atlantic and had considerable action. "Tampico" isn't on the same level, but it gives a peek at what the Merchant Marine was like around the world during WWII. And, it includes a look at fifth column activities during the war. Nazi operators existed in the U.S. and many other nations. Their primary purpose in the U.S. was to keep it out of the war – on the side of the Allies. It's secondary operations were disruption of industrial production, sabotage and espionage to aid in the sinking of Allied ships. The plot is fairly simple and somewhat contrived for this film. Edward G. Robinson is very good as Capt. Bart Manson. Victor McLaglen is very good as his first mate. Lynn Bari is good as Kathy Hall. Her part in the film does seem quite contrived. Some reviewers couldn't place her being attracted to Robinson. And a couple questioned Robinson's age as a ship's captain. The script gives a good accounting of Kathy's situation. She had left the U.S. five years earlier and traveled and worked as a dancer in Europe. And, with the rise of the Nazis and invasion of France, she had been trying to return to the U.S. through Lisbon, Portugal. That was a familiar struggle for many civilians, including Americans, trying to get away from the Nazis. As to Robinson's age, the Merchant Marine had many ship captains in their 40s and 50s. And, during WWII, the service was very happy to have all the experienced captains stay at their helms. Before the start of the war, the Merchant Marine had 55,000 experienced mariners. That number grew to 215,000 during the war – all trained by the Maritime Service.During the war, about 4,300 Allied ships were sunk. More than 9,300 U.S. mariners lost their lives. In the peak year 1942, the Allies lost 33 ships per week. The U.S. Merchant Marine operated in most of the oceans and seas of the world, and lost ships in all those areas. The Atlantic Ocean had the most ships lost – more than 700. But more than 230 ships were sunk by German U-boats in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. So, "Tampico" gives a look at Merchant Marine operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Early in the film, Captain Manson lectures his men before they go on shore leave about maintaining security so that the enemy can't find out about their shipping plans and cargoes. Very few war films show these warnings to the troops, but it is something that regularly took place among all the services. One of the most familiar posters seen during WWII warned, "Loose lips sink ships." "Tampico" fits that warning to a tee. This movie doesn't have the action of many other films at sea. And, it spends more time in port. But it gives us a rare look at the silent service during WWII that was so crucial to supplying the Allied forces and to their winning the war.

This one started out generally interesting, and with a little bit of misdirection by characters Valdez (Marc Lawrence) and Dolores Garcia (Mona Maris), it looked like there was some kind of skulduggery underfoot that placed them in the employ of Nazi agents. With the kind of writing employed today, the story could have taken some twists and turns to make it a riveting espionage thriller, but the attempt got wasted here by the time Captain Bart Manson (Edward G. Robinson) learned that his long time buddy and first mate Fred Adamson (Victor McLaglen) actually sold out to the Germans and was working for the Nazi mob. Adamson's rationale for making the switch was almost laughable (he needed the money), and was about as believable as seeing him decked by Manson for criticizing his girl (Lynn Bari).As for Manson romancing Katherine Hall, I don't even think I have to go there; almost every other reviewer here has mentioned it. Almost twice her age and not what I'd exactly call handsome, Robinson's character is pretty much maneuvered into a whirlwind courtship that winds up in marriage between the principals. The only rationale that makes sense within the context of the story was that compassionate speech he makes to Mrs. Kelly, the survivor of a torpedo attack, when she insists on seeing her husband who died. Miss Hall was there to hear the captain, and one would have to admit, that dialog was the stuff that true character is made of.That whole business with Nazi Kruger (Tonio Selwart) offering a deal to Captain Manson also needed a bit more fleshing out as well if it was going to make one believe that Manson was going to betray his country. The cigarette lighter with the initial 'K' was apparently the ruse required to insure Manson believe his wife was a spy, but when 'Karla' showed up instead, I got the impression that the story was too far out on a limb to tie all the loose ends together.I guess you have to brush aside all the less than believable elements here and just go with the flow of the story without being too critical. Maybe take the Mexican waiter's advice and see this with a shot of tequila - it's good for the heart and it'll clarify your mind. Careful though, more than one will make you woozy.

Oil tanker captain Edward G. Robinson picks up shipwreck survivors during WW2. Among them is pretty Lynn Bari. The middle-aged captain falls for her and the two are married, despite the objections of his friend and first mate, Victor McLaglen. Later, after his ship is sunk by a torpedo, his new bride is suspected of being a German agent. Eddie sets out to uncover the truth and hopefully clear her name.Perhaps only in the fantasyland of movies can a woman as attractive as Lynn Bari be into a guy that looks like Edward G. Robinson (without him being rich, of course). I was able to keep my inner cynic in check on this part of the story. The rest of it is a little more far-fetched but I won't spoil all of it for you. Let's just say what Robinson does to investigate I've seen in older movies before and it always stretches credulity. Eddie's good and Lynn's not bad, either. Victor McLaglen is wasted in his blah part. It's a watchable WW2 flick. Robinson fans will like it more than most.

Robinson's career as a leading man was on the downslide at this point and he was jerkily moving into starring support roles like his turn in DOUBLE INDEMNITY when he made this one, a handsome Fox programmer with noir lighting in which his role is a bit of a retread, combining the lovesick dope of TIGER SHARK, the mature sea captain and some World War Two intrigue. He's got good players with him too, with Lynn Bari and Victor MacLaglen.... and when it came to playing a role cleanly and honestly in the movie theater, Robinson's only competition was Spencer Tracy. And if they have film footage of either of them reading the telephone book, it will be worth seeing. So this one is worth your time. Which you should have known when you saw his name on the cast list.